|  | 8.4 | Network Performance
| 8.4.1 | Network baseline, updates and change verification
Along with network security and redundancy, another important consideration in network management is network performance. Network performance is a measurement of a network's quickness and reliability. A good comparison to a network is an automobile. You want your car to lock (security) and to have a spare tire (redundancy), but this is only part of the car. The other part is how fast can it accelerate from 0 to 60 (quickness), and when you step on the brakes, do they work (reliability). These aspects of performance need to be checked to see if performance is being maintained. Again, just like if your car is not performing well, you can take it in for a tune-up. The difference between networks and cars is that most car models have standard performance levels, most networks do not. Every combination of computer and network hardware, software, and cabling will have a different network performance. This leads us to the conclusion that in order to know when the network is performing poorly, we must have a measurement to compare the performance against. This measurement is called a baseline. A baseline is established after the network has been installed and configured properly. To establish a baseline, a network monitor package or tool, such as the Fluke LANMeter or Windows NT network monitor program can be used. These tools will record several types of network performance data, including network utilization percentage, collision counts, frame errors and broadcast traffic. By establishing a baseline measurement when the network system is at optimum normal performance levels, the network administrator will have a comparison value to use to determine the health of the network. As the network grows and changes, the baseline measurement, just like any other documentation needs to be periodically updated. As a system is upgraded, it is important to remember that as hardware is upgraded, so should the software drivers that control that hardware, and if an upgrade or new program is installed, the service or repair packs supplied by the software company need to be reinstalled. In the case of the new hardware installation, the old software driver may not take advantage of the new hardware features or may not be compatible at all. This could create a serious performance problem. The reason for the reinstallation of the service packs is to prevent files, that are part of the new programs installation process, that are older than the file that is in the service pack from causing problems. When making changes to the network, such as moving a piece of equipment from one location to another. It is important to verify the proper operation of that piece of equipment in its new location before updating your baseline measurement. This is especially important when making changes to reduce network traffic on a particular network segment. Even though the device was working properly on the old segment, it may not for the new segment, and this will have an effect on network performance. Always verify the operation of a device thoroughly after an equipment move; this includes network functionality and all critical applications.
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